School of Art
PhD Fine Art: Definitions INTRODUCTION The School of Art: • • • •
provides a full spectrum and progression of academic qualifications in the disciplines of Fine Art and Art History from undergraduate to higher-‐degree level; fosters research in the disciplines of Fine Art and Art History; asserts that the concept of ‘research through Fine Art’ is as valid as that of ‘research into Fine Art’; maintains that these two concepts can fruitfully intertwine.
The PhD Fine Art recognises and awards intellectual endeavour in art practice comparable to that demonstrated through the PhD in Art History. In this respect, the scheme extends and completes an educational continuum at postgraduate level that starts with the taught MA in Art and MA in Art & Art History schemes. As such, it represents a transition from being instructed on what is known already and being able to personally originate, explain, and justify what was not previously known already. The PhD is assessed by an informed peer consensus on the mastery of the subject, mastery of analytical breadth and mastery of depth, together with the communication of this mastery within the contribution and its defence in appropriate forms. The PhD Fine Art comprises: • •
A substantial creative product set in a relevant theoretical, historical, critical, and visual context a written component of equal importance to the body of creative work, recording and demonstrating a critical, historical, and diagnostic grasp of appropriate research methods and outcomes of the process and product an independent and original contribution to knowledge a permanent record of the creative work
• • CURRICULUM
The PhD in Fine Art has two elements: a creative product (Portfolio) and a reflective commentary on the process (Text): Portfolio 1. Substance of Portfolio The candidate submits a portfolio of work where Portfolio is defined in terms of artwork comprising a) Supporting Work, and b) Exhibition: a) Supporting Work This needs to be sufficiently extensive to: a) b)
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establish the broader context of candidate’s research (particularly in relation to the first two years of the PhD); interpret the development of the work;
c) d)
provide evidence of a disciplined, cogitative, and experimental approach to defining the research problem; and demonstrate that the possibilities and the implication suggested by this have been explored. It might, for instance, include preparatory studies related to the exhibition, full-‐scale sketches, works excluded from exhibition (for reasons of editorial censure), visual notebooks and diaries (composed with a view to an external readership), technical experiments, and a photographic (or comparable) record of the evolution of the creative product.
b) Exhibition This must equate to a major one-‐person show in terms of: the gravity of intellectual substance; the substantiality and significance of the conceptual intent; and the range, complexity, and difficulty of the technical problems posed. It should represent a coherent and focused body of images, manifesting a structured, critical, investigative, and explicatory attitude within a prescribed field of work. It may assume either a hung body of images or another disseminable format appropriate to the medium and concept (such as an installation, book, photographic portfolio, video, film, or computer-‐originated/accessed image, or a combination of any or all such). The creative product should be an embodiment, exegesis, and a presentation of an emergent and identifiable conceptual problem. 2. Scope of Portfolio A candidate must demonstrate mastery of appropriate modes and criteria of visual inquiry and/or expression for translating ideas into mediums and technologies (as appropriate). The candidate is expected to prove, thereby, the appositeness, or otherwise, of the idea or concept, and to observe how the use of different mediums is implicated in the evolution of the works. He/she must also challenge the efficacy of the idea; for example, by testing the idea in relation to varieties of scale, compositional or installation devices, and technical methodologies. 3. Standards of Presentation The Exhibition should be of the highest standards of professional presentation. Consummate professionalism will be manifest, for example, in the case of a hung exhibition, in the preparation of the gallery space, lighting, hanging, arrangement, and application of legends and explanatory texts (where appropriate). Supporting Work must be available in a form that is accessible to examiners, orderly in arrangement, and, again, professionally presented. 4. Level of Craftsmanship in Portfolio The Exhibition and Supporting Work should demonstrate an authority over the artistic means associated with the field of work with which the research identifies. This will be evident in a mastery of appropriate scale, compositional devices, technical skills and hardware, medium(s), and modes of presentation. 5. Conceptual/Technical Standards Expected The body of images should achieve a standard of conceptual acuity and technical proficiency, dexterity, and soundness embodied in the highest achievement of artists working within that field of work with which the research identifies. Candidates are expected to demonstrate a congruity and fitness of concept and practice at the highest level. They will be also required to demonstrate considerable proficiency in a range of technical
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skills and a mature comprehension of concepts, modes of action, and historical traditions outside of those required by the specific research problem. 4. Range of Resources/Mediums Used Candidates will articulate their research through two-‐dimensional studies in Fine Art, principally drawing, painting, photography, and printmaking. These mediums/processes/disciplines may be deployed either separately or in combination. Text 1. Nature of the Text The candidate will submit a body of written work where Text is defined in terms of Thesis and Exhibition Texts: Thesis This is a parallel discourse. It aims to contextualize the body of images and its modus operandi within a field of activity and visual-‐historical tradition. One of its principal objectives is to provide publicly accessible evidence of the research process in order for the work to be valued, understood, accessed, as a rigorous and intellectually demanding programme of study. It will also provide the critical context in which the work can be viewed, experienced, and assessed. The text would identify: 1. the field of enquiry, and assess the quality, sufficiency, and relevance of existing research to the proposed endeavour; 2. the origin and definition of the specific visual problem (in terms of concept, technical challenge, methodology, developmental process, sources, material resources, theoretical and contextual environment, relevance, and, where appropriate, application) posed, explored, and resolved in the process of research; 3. the unique and original contribution that the research findings/manifestation makes to the field of work. The Thesis would stand in a formative, diacritical, and exegetical relation to the body of images (Portfolio). It will be between 5,000 and 40,000 words in length, and adopt the same standards of scholarly convention and presentation as a PhD thesis in a humanities discipline. Writing skills would normally be expected to match those of a candidate pursuing a doctorate in Art History. Exhibition Texts The texts comprise information boards and captions composed for a general public viewing. The texts should: 1. aim to provide a lucid and accessible introduction to the nature of the Exhibition both as a thing in itself and in relation to PhD Fine Art studies; 2. demonstrate professional standards of design and production. Portfolio and Text 1. Level of Originality in Presentation Originality is defined in terms of an identifiable and qualitative extension, or a unique contribution to, existing practice in the field of the work. It may be manifest in terms of an unprecedented conceptualisation, methodology, technical development and application, or
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a combination of any or all of such. Originality would be demonstrated in the Portfolio (Exhibition) principally through formal and /or conceptual innovation arising from boundary-‐ breaking in methodology, ideation, technique, or a combination of any or all of such. Originality in the Text (Thesis) would take the form of new theory and methodology, an extension to existing theory and methodology, or fresh approaches to applying existing theory and methodology. The candidate will be expected to define his or her own practice in relation to this wider context also. 2. Awareness of the Field of the Work The candidate would be expected to have full cognisance of the field of art practice directly and indirectly bearing on the research. To this end, research includes a sustained period of bibliographic and exhibition study, as well as an investigation of appropriate web sites (with a view, also, to establishing correspondence with artists, theoreticians, and historians in the same field). The fruit and evidence of this dimension of research would be declared in the source and bibliography section of the Thesis. The candidate would be required to relate his or her own research to the existing field of the work. This is with a view to determining the research’s unique contribution to, and extension of, the field. ASSESSMENT Normal University of Wales ‘Enabling Regulations for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy’ apply. Further to this: 1. Examiners A scholar with cognisance of the relevant practical, historical will externally examine the candidate, and theoretical concerns involved in the candidate’s field of work. 2. Examinable Components a) Examination will be based on the evidence of the Portfolio (Exhibition and Supporting Work) and Text (Thesis and Exhibition Texts); b) the viva voce will be conducted in the context of a presentation. This comprises a demonstration and defence on the development and fruit of the research. 3. Criteria for the Award of Doctorate The award of PhD Fine Art is determined on basis of: 1. both the process and the product; 2. the work submitted making a recognisable contribution to knowledge and understanding in the field of Fine Art -‐-‐ contributing new perspectives on existing knowledge and/or an understanding of this field; 3. a critical and analytical attitude towards the above, an ability to apply them with a view to originating new knowledge and/or understanding, and an ability to create an original product that is judged valid and significant. 4. Examination Components Portfolio (Exhibition and Supporting Work) Text (Thesis & Exhibition Texts) The candidate must pass both elements in order to qualify for the award.
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5. Access of Research Material The Exhibition component of the Portfolio will be recorded (digitally) as still images. A video will be made of the arrangement of the works in gallery context. These documents would be conserved and presented on a Compact Disk, and stored alongside the Text (Thesis and Exhibition Catalogue).
STUDY SKILL DEVELOPMENT & RESEARCH TRAINING The following study skills will be developed in the course of the scheme:
1.
Oral and written communication and presentation In the context of: • Thesis, Exhibition Catalogue, and notebooks.
2.
Development of personal initiative Through: • Self-‐directed study; • Origination and pursuit of the research programme.
3.
Experience in collaborative interaction or team work • In the context of the School of Art’s postgraduate ‘Forum’ series of seminars. This brings together all students on the School’s MA, M.Phil. and PhD schemes. The aim is to subject core issues and contributing student’s work to critical discussion.
4.
Other transferable skills • word-‐processing, desk-‐top, and digital-‐imaging skills in the development of the Exhibition Catalogue; • Network skills developed in the context of research searches of the Worldwide Web and, where necessary, establishment of networked research groups.
The nature of the PhD in Fine Art requires: • • • • •
knowledge and acquisition of relevant research methodologies understanding of cognitive approaches ability to undertake systematic enquiry ability to frame research proposals and programmes skills in time-‐management
Therefore, candidates are expected to attend the postgraduate training programme at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, and the School’s own research programme. ADMISSION & APPLICATION Applicants are normally expected to possess an MA in Fine Art. Acceptance is at the discretion the Head of School to whom all enquiries should be addressed. Applicants, in the first instance, should complete the appropriate University application form. School of Art, 2013
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